Avatar Cat 2: Legend Of Owlflame: Stars
by Cody The Pikachu
Summary: A few moons have passed since Anubis had fallen, and Owlflame starts training with her uncle Cinderstar in the ways of StarClan. But civil wars, corrupt business partners, and going into StarClan itself keep her busy while trying to find a peaceful way to keep the two Clans of WaterClan from fighting. Rated T for language, blood, violence, and some rude humor.
1. Spirit Of Rebellion

**AvatarCat13: Hey there, everyone, and welcome back to Legend Of Owlflame! It's been many months since I wrote a chapter for it, and that was back in March. And here it finally is at long last!**

**Korra: You better believe it. It's here at last! I'd like to say a little something first: we've made several changes to some of the characters, Avatar Cat. Hope you don't mind.**

**AvatarCat13: Hey, that's all fine with me. And as you've known, folks, Book 2: Spirits is finally here, and so are the transcripts! ...well, two of them, but now we can continue this series! Korra, would you like to do the honors?**

**Korra: Sure! And don't forget that we have the new Pokemon X game and Warriors: The Ultimate Guide. Check 'em out!  
**

**Disclaimer: The Legend Of Korra and Warrior Cats will never belong to AvatarCat13. They belong to Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko.**

**Summary: A moon has passed since Avatar Cat Owlflame defeated Anubis and the Equalists. Peace has finally returned to United City and the four Clans, but danger now threatens WaterClan from both sides. Spirits are attacking cats randomly, the Southern WaterClan is lacking spirituality, and Owlflame discovers a shocking secret her father and Sunstar had hidden from her.**

**Publishing Date: November 7, 2013**

**Enjoy Book 2: Stars!**

**...**

_**Spirit Of Rebellion**_

A seagull cawed and soared away with a fish in its beak as a white cat pounced at it. The seabird had gotten away from his claws, leaving some tail feathers behind as it soared away to the dark stormy sky. Just as he hissed and backed away, angry that he let the prey slip away, he jumped a bit as he faced a strange tom: this cat was brown-furred and skinny, and gray hairs around his muzzle indicated that he was old.

"This yer first watch, Sea Crow?" the scraggly brown tom asked.

Sea Crow nodded. "Yes, Sea Catch."

Sea Catch smirked, revealing a missing tooth. "Aye. Well, good luck tonight, lad. Yeh never know what's under them waves. Could be a shark, orca, or even the kraken itself. But still, lad...have some good luck."

Sea Crow gulped and glanced down at the water while Sea Catch to leave, snickering quietly. But what the old cat didn't notice...was a huge beast lurking beneath the dark water.

Just as Sea Crow was going to walk away, he saw a dark and massive tail slip beneath the surface. He gulped again and mewled, "Uh, sir?"

"What?" Sea Catch griped.

But his slightly irritated look gave way to horror as a massive black shark burst from the deck and leapt high into the air towards them. The old cat yowled in horror as the spirit shark grabbed him by the tail on its way down and pulled him down into the water, never to be seen again.

"Cat overboard! Cat overboard!" Sea Crow yowled in horror, fearful that the giant shark could strike a second time.

Just then, long black squid-like tentacles emerged from beneath the water's surface and wrapped themselves around the fishing boat, pulling it under. Neither cats were seen after this.

**...**

"It's Pro-Bending night in United City, and have we got a doozy of a fight for you! Fan favorites, The Fire Meerkats, are about to take on hot newcomers: The Woolly Rhinos!"

Stonetail breathed in the scents of many cats, dogs, and Twolegs who had all come to see the match. Without Avatar Cat Owlflame and his brother Redblaze, the stumpy-tailed brown tabby tom became the leader of the Fire Meerkats, yet they weren't as good as they used to be. Still, the newest recruits were showing signs of promise...even if they were a bit nervous.

"Now we all know that our last match was a bunch of shit," Stonetail began. "Complete fox shit! Even Timon could've done a better job."

Timon, his red-furred meerkat and the team mascot, walked over and rested his paws on his master's broad shoulder while squeaking.

"But that's in the past," Stonetail added, seeing the silence of the other cats. "Wanna know why? Because when you back a fire meerkat in the corner...he comes out fighting, pal! He strikes back with the grace of a butterfly and the ferocity of a bee! So let's get our tails out there and Bend like there's no tomorrow! Who's with me?!"

But the other two Fire Meerkat members were sitting dejectedly. The only reaction of either of them came from the gray WaterBender, who rubbed his nose with a forepaw while sniffing. The female FireBender (a dark ginger she-cat) just looked at him in an awkward way. Stonetail gave a sigh; no matter what he told himself, these two cats had a long way to go before becoming full-fledged Pro-Benders.

Soon enough, the Fire Meerkats and their opponents, the Woolly Rhinos, were lined up before each other. As the bell to announce the start of the match rang, both teams readied for their respective element. But...it turned to chaos. Stonetail and then his two teammates were knocked over the rim and into the water, each being hit by their respective element. The buzzer sounded, signaling a zone-line had been crossed.

"The Fire Ferrets go down in the water, and right into the record books for the fastest knockout in Pro-bending history!" the Pro-Bending announcer called.

Stonetail groaned as he pulled himself out of the water. "Great StarClan, this sucks...I wish Redblaze was still here..."

**...**

The rider of the motorcycle shifted the gear, the wailing of a police siren ringing in his ears. The motor swerved away and after a truck flying around the corner, driving with screeching tires. The motorcycle was hot on its tail, and the rider narrowed his amber eyes behind his goggles; this should be one easy mission.

As the two vehicles sped down the street, the back of the truck opened up to reveal two cats. One of them made circular motions with his forepaw to Bend the water from inside the truck, and he clapped his paws together, rapidly transforming the water in mist to hide the speeding truck from view. Then, while the mist filled the entire length of the street, they spilled some water out from the back, spilling it over the street and then freezing it.

But the cat on the motorcycle was not to be deterred. His vehicle did start to slip on the ice, but as the motorcycle spun out of control, he used FireBending to create a circle, melting the ice, and enabling himself to gain control of the bike again as its wheels found solid ground. He swerved out of the path of the rest of the ice and resumed his pursuit, knowing his mate would never live it down if he messed up because of her native element.

Up ahead, the truck ran down a road blockade and narrowly missed an incoming police truck from a street to its left. The motorcyclist found his road now blocked and swerved to the right, where a truck with wooden beams that formed a ramp stood in his way. Without hesitation, he steered his motor onto the ramp, using FireBending from his hind paws to launch himself and his bike into the air, where he flipped and aimed a powerful fire blast to the truck's engine as he came down. Heavy smoke came from beneath the truck's hood, and its engine exploded, causing it to spin wildly. The motorcyclist landed and stopped his vehicle while the truck raced by, hit a pole, flipped on its roof, slid along over the road, and flipped to its side. Finally, as the vehicle came to a stop, it partially exploded.

Two of the three passengers were already lying in front of the truck, and the driver let himself fall from out of the broken windshield. He landed on top of his two comrades, producing a grunt from them. The motorcyclist prowled toward them, removing the goggles and helmet while smirking down at them.

"Hey there, punks. Looks like you got car trouble," Redblaze meowed smugly as he stepped forward. "Thank your lucky stars the police are here."

**...**

The sounds of a plane engine were like music to Emerald's ears as the plane's landing gear hit the landing strip. It had taken quite a while to learn how to fly a plane since, to Twolegs, cats weren't usually seen driving vehicles. Once the plane came to a halt, the beautiful calico she-cat started climbing out of the cockpit and taking off her helmet.

Ever since her father, Romulus Sato, had been thrown into the pound, Emerald had been left in charge of her father's company: Future Productions. She was hard at work now to overcome the bad reputation Romulus had given the company, and selling equipment to expecting customers would bring it back up. Just as she got out of the plane, she was approached by a Twoleg engineer, who reached down and patted her head.

"I think these planes are finally ready to ship," she purred after the petting was done.

But the engineer looked uneasy. "Erm...miss, I hate to be an Honest Joe, but no other company will work with us ever since your father was taken to the pound. We're nearly bankrupt."

Emerald flicked an ear. "Hey, don't worry. I'm going to the South Pole to meet with someone who can help us get back onto our feet."

She rubbed against the Twoleg's leg and padded past him. But as soon as she was out of his sight, her smile turned into a frown of worry. What the engineer said was true: Romulus had sided with the Equalists and tried to bring the city under chaos. Plus, he had tried to drag her to the dark side due to his mate (and her mother) being killed by a FireBender, and he would have killed his own daughter if Stonetail hadn't stopped him.

Perhaps if this new helper could help them out, the company could be saved. Plus, everyone would want to buy their produce again.

_Great StarClan, give me strength._

**...**

A moon had passed by eventfully after the defeat of Anubis and the Equalists. Owlflame was happy that she had been able to learn AirBending and the Avatar Cat State and show it to her mentor's family. Speaking of that, Ivykit and Plumkit had become apprentices at last: Ivypaw and Plumpaw...and they were all in a race around the island.

Owlflame raced along the ground on her new air paws as a dragon flew above their heads. The cats were racing down a flight of stairs in the distance, Plumpaw in the lead with Owlflame trailing close behind her, and Ivypaw and Foxkit were behind them. The apprentices had dared her to a race as if they were certain they could beat her.

_Doesn't matter. I'll still win!_

They took a turn, heading to the buildings, where Sunstar's mate, Dawnfall, was walking along with a fresh-caught rabbit in her jaws and her recent litter of kits beside her. Owlflame and the older kits sped past her, nearly knocking her over. Startled, the golden tabby-&-white cat threw the rabbit in the air, and when they took off, she caught the food again and glared after the four in surprise and indignation. But Crowkit and Goldkit were cheering, though their voices were not used to lots of talking yet.

The racers swiftly turned around the AirBending training gates; some of the panels even started spinning as they passed by. The foursome leapt off the platform, and Plumpaw turned to Owlflame, confidently smiling a challenge towards the Avatar Cat.

Owlflame smirked back, closed her eyes, and began to focus. She opened them again as they began to glow when she entered the Avatar Cat State, so she used the extra power to pull ahead of a surprised Plumpaw. The blue-gray she-cat sped underneath a paifang gate and was flagged the winner by Rockfall, Sunstar's brother. Owlflame came to a stop and leapt out of the balls of air, remaining on her haunches.

"The Avatar Cat wins!" Rockfall yowled. The plump brown tomcat was coughing due to the dust, but he still looked frisky.

Owlflame basked in the praise, but Plumpaw stalked up to her, whining, "Hey, that's not fair! You can't use the Avatar Cat State in racing! It's cheating!"

But all Owlflame did was stick her tongue out at the young gray tabby.

"WHAT was that?!" Owlflame sighed as Sunstar, the AirClan leader and Goldstar's son, stalked forward. "Plumpaw is right about this, Owlflame. The Avatar Cat State must not be used as a rocket booster! You are abusing a power you do not appreciate!"

"I DO appreciate it!" Owlflame retorted, feeling insulted. "I'm the Avatar Cat, and it's called the _Avatar Cat _State. And who appreciates this power more than me?"

Sunstar shook his large bushy mane in anger. "That attitude shows that you need more training to grasp the depths of your spiritual connection. And you still need to master AirBending."

Owlflame sighed and stood up on her haunches again. "I HAVE mastered it! Look at this move: scratch, scratch, and swipe!" She leapt into the air and swiped at the air, causing wind to come out of her claws as she landed. "See? I mastered it. Nothing to it!"

"Looks good to me," Rockfall remarked, nodding in approval as he padded up to them.

"Is it too late for you to go back to the army?" Sunstar groaned in annoyance.

Rockfall nodded. "Yep. The paperwork's been done, so now you're gonna get big brother time twenty-four hours a day!"

Sunstar rolled his gray eyes before looking back at his apprentice. "Owlflame, you've already mastered your style of AirBending, but you need to master _real _AirBending. Maybe our visit to all the territories of AirClan will give you the spur you need to look into your spiritual side." He pulled out a map of the world and pointed at each location with his paw: one in the south and near home, one near FireClan, one near the Northern WaterClan, and one far in the east.

At the sound of that, his three oldest children came forward and pranced around his paws. Ivypaw asked, "Can we visit where Grandpa Goldstar was born?"

"How many hawks can I get?" Foxkit squeaked in his kitten voice.

Plumpaw had forgotten her anger at Owlflame and cheered, "I wanna get some markings! But I want spots instead of arrow stripes! Then I'll look like a snow leopard!"

"But you can't get spots," Ivypaw insisted. "AirClan cats always get arrow stripes! Having just spots doesn't make any sense."

"YOU don't make any sense!" Plumpaw squealed, pouncing on top of her sister.

"Fight! Fight! Fight!" Foxkit squeaked as the two she-cats wrestled with one another.

Sunstar quickly pawed his daughters away from each other and meowed, "No more fighting. We're going to have a wonderful time when we go on our field trip, and we will enjoy it. Now that the Twoleg president is finally in office and I'm not leading the council anymore, I can finally relax with my family and give Owlflame the attention she needs."

Owlflame looked away, recalling the unwanted attention the press had given her. Plus, it had gotten really annoying when she and Redblaze became mates, for they said it was really great news that the Avatar Cat had found a mate. But Goldstar had been mates with Silverheart, and they never attracted too much attention. And now...too much attention was too much.

"Well, that's great," she muttered. "That's all I need."

"Hey, relax," Rockfall reassured her with a smile. "I'd pay to see that. Maybe I'll tag along just to see Casa De Sunstar on the road!"

"You weren't invited," Sunstar meowed crisply.

Owlflame chuckled at this, knowing that Rockfall could cheer anyone up. She turned to the kits and meowed, "Hey kits. Before we go on your dad's study trip, we're gonna have some real fun in my homeland at the Glacier Stars Festival. They've got cool rides, fun games, and all kinds of tasty fried food on sticks."

Hearing that, the kits cheered and pranced around their father's paws again, who sighed and tried to look calm. Owlflame sat back and smiled at her work; now they seemed to be really excited on going to the festival. She even remembered the last time she had heard about the festival when she was a kit, but she couldn't go because of her training as the Avatar Cat. Yet it made her feel excited all over.

Rockfall purred, "Yep, that's good stuff. And Sunstar..." He turned to give his younger littermate a smirk. "You ain't stoppin' me from going. Mom already invited me."

**...**

"So then, I told him 'Hey punks, looks like you got some car trouble. Thank your lucky stars the police are here.'"

Owlflame and her friends had boarded onto a ship that would take them all to the Southern WaterClan. It was a ship on the ocean at night with the moon shining above, the warriors of StarClan glittering above the world. While everyone else was busy doing whatever, Owlflame was sitting with her mate while resting with Nisa, her black-furred dire wolf, on the deck.

"Didn't you write that before?" Owlflame purred in amusement.

Redblaze pulled a paper out from his police bag. "Yeah, but I got some more here. How about this one?" He cleared his throat and meowed in a handsome tone, "'Looks like you guys should put more 'tree' in trio?' Or, 'When you get to the gates of Hell, tell 'em Redblaze sent ya.'"

Owlflame twitched her whiskers. "I like that one."

"Okay, I'll use that next time," Redblaze meowed with a nod. "Shard even says that if I keep it up, I could be promoted to detective soon."

"That sounds like fun," Owlflame meowed, her smile fading a little bit. She looked to the side, recalling how Sunstar got onto her case the other day. "Ever since we got rid of the Equalists, all I do is train all day. It's like Sunstar's forgotten how I beat Anubis, you know?"

Redblaze rested a paw reassuringly on her shoulder. "Hey, Sunstar's just trying to help you be the best Avatar Cat you can be. He's just looking out for you."

But that didn't reassure Owlflame. Instead, it made her angry that he would say something like that. So she shrugged his paw away and muttered, "Of course you'd take his side."

"No I'm not," Redblaze insisted, looking surprised at her. "I'm just-"

"Forget it," Owlflame growled. "I'm gonna go for a walk. See ya."

She stood up and stalked away from her mate and her wolf, fuming over what Redblaze had said. If he didn't want to help her the way she wanted him to do, then she could help herself.

"Why is it easier to bust criminals than to get through a conversation with my mate?" he griped to Nisa, who just tilted her head to him.

**...**

The day had finally arrived. They were back in the Southern WaterClan, Owlflame's home. Lots of cats had gathered to greet their northern cousins in time to celebrate the Glacier Stars festival together. She couldn't wait to see what was in store for the upcoming event; in fact, it made her feel giddy and forget her prickly attitude from earlier.

_Home...it's been a moon since I've been here, _she realized. The last time she was here, she had gotten her Bending taken away by Anubis...but it was given back by Goldstar, the Avatar Cat before her. And it was also the place where she had gotten EnergyBending and the power of the Avatar Cat State.

"Grandma!" the kits squealed, running off from their parents.

Owlflame looked up and smiled. There was Silverheart, her mentor in WaterBending, Goldstar's mate, and a good friend to Owlflame. The silver tabby elder was on the dock, waiting for them with a gentle smile on her face, next to a silver tabby-&-white cat that looked slightly like her. It was Seashell, Sunstar and Rockfall's sister and Goldstar and Silverheart's only daughter.

Silverheart greeted her grandkits with a purr as she nuzzled them. "Hello, you three," she rasped with delight. "Goodness, you've gotten big! You must be apprentices now, I think."

"We are!" Plumpaw mewed. "I'm Plumpaw now, and Ivykit's now Ivypaw! Foxkit's gotta wait for another few moons!"

"Aunt Seashell!" Ivypaw meowed, running over to the other silver tabby. "We missed you!"

"I missed you too, kids," Seashell purred, licking the younger she-cat on the ears and looking up at Sunstar. With a smirk, she prowled over to him and head-butted his shoulder, adding, "I don't think your dad wanted me to visit often, though. He's afraid I might try and kick his tail around like when we were kits."

Sunstar glared at his sister. "I am NOT afraid of you...anymore," he added sheepishly as he looked to the side.

Owlflame purred at this before looking around. There were her parents. At the front was her father Tanrock, a large light brown tabby tom with strong muscles and amber eyes, and just behind him was Dovesong, a smaller yet pretty gray she-cat with blue eyes. With another purr, she padded over to them and gave them each a greeting head rub, letting Redblaze step forth. Now she saw for the first time that they were getting older; scars decorated Tanrock's pelt to show the many battles he had endured, and Dovesong was looking a bit skinnier.

"You remember Redblaze?" she asked. "Right?"

Redblaze gave a respectful nod, and Dovesong nodded back. However, Tanrock rumbled in his deep voice, "I hope you're not getting my daughter into any more trouble."

"I'm not, sir!" Redblaze yelped backing away. "I promise."

But then, her father's stern look gave way to a hearty chuckle, making Owlflame laugh a bit in embarrassment. To cover that up, she nudged him on the shoulder and purred, "Okay, Dad, you big lug. Knock it off."

Stonetail came up to the family and looked around. "Great StarClan, look at all these cats! They must've come out to see us!"

"Nope." Owlflame flicked her tail towards the harbor. "They came to see _them_."

And indeed, there it was: a huge ship, a royal Northern WaterClan ship docking on the other side of the pier. The crowd cheered and chanted "WaterClan! WaterClan!" right when the ship halted right before them.

"Huh." Owlflame turned and was surprised to see contempt and sarcasm in her father's eyes. "The great leader of the Northern WaterClan has graced us with his oh so holy presence. This should be great news to everyone."

"Try and relax, dear," Dovesong assured him softly, giving his ear a gentle lick. "He'll only be here for the festival."

Tanrock grunted, but he merely turned away.

At the ship, a strikingly pure white snowy owl gave a hoot before spreading its wings and taking off from the flag pole. The ship came to a complete halt at the dock, and the bow was lowered. Stalking down the bowsprit was Cinderstar, the leader of the Northern WaterClan.

He was a bit like Owlflame remembered him: tall and dark gray with narrowed green eyes, three white legs, a white face, and a white tail tip. Behind him prowled two pale gray cats; those must be his children, Duskpaw and Palepaw. They looked so alike except for their eye color, which were green and blue each in opposite patterns.

"Wow...they're cute," Stonetail remarked with a whistle. "Who are those two beauties?"

Owlflame kept the amused smile on her face. "They're Duskpaw and Palepaw, Cinderstar's kits. And Palepaw's a tom."

The tabby tom looked back at the twins before looking back at her, green eyes wide. "Uh...I knew that. Yeah, I knew it all along...but which one is Palepaw?"

But Owlflame gave him a hiss to be quiet, for Cinderstar was approaching. She had seen him before when she was a kit, but he still looked even taller than she even if she was a young adult warrior. She had also heard that her uncle was a very spiritual cat whose wisdom of StarClan had even rivaled that of the Avatar Cats and an ancient elder named Irontail. Once the Northern cats approached, Cinderstar looked to her and dipped his head to her.

"Hello, Avatar Cat Owlflame," the dark gray tom meowed in a calm Zen-like tone, a respectful look on his face. "It is an honor to see you again."

"Good to see you too, Uncle," Owlflame meowed as she nodded back.

But as Cinderstar looked away, his green eyes hardened with distrust. He was glaring right at Tanrock, who was glaring right back at him with equal distrust.

"Tanrock," Cinderstar meowed sternly.

"Cinderstar," Tanrock growled back harshly.

Hearing the hostility in their tones made Owlflame confused. Cinderstar and Tanrock had been brothers, and she heard that they didn't talk to each other often...but why were they hostile towards each other? What had caused them to be like this?

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

As they left the bay at the Southern WaterClan, they had passed through the city. Ever since the Great War had ended, the city had been brought up from a pile of snow to the grand metropolis it now was. Just beyond that was the festival, where a great carnival stood. Before she was taken away for training, Owlflame had always enjoyed every part of it: the rides, the food, the games, and the prizes.

She was now walking with Sunstar (to her chagrin) and Tanrock, who were all led by Cinderstar. Owlflame still couldn't wonder why the two brothers were hostile towards each other. But she felt like it wasn't any of her business, so she decided not to pry.

"It's a shame the Southern cats have abandoned all connections to StarClan, even during the most holy times," Cinderstar sniffed, looking around in a disdainful way.

"I've always loved the Glacier Stars Festival," Owlflame purred, looking around. "It's fun."

Cinderstar just replied, "I suppose you find it so. But it is more than that. This festival used to be a solemn time of abstaining and meditation and praying to StarClan for guidance. Now it is just a tourist trap to watch some common cat try to stick an entire turkey in his mouth."

He looked to the side, where Stonetail was sticking a cooked turkey on a stick into his mouth. He turned to them and asked with his mouth full, "What? It's good stuff."

"Traditions change, brother," Tanrock growled, stalking up to Cinderstar. "Just because things change in the Clans doesn't mean it's the end of the world."

"Really?" Cinderstar calmly retorted. "Try telling that to the sailors who are being attacked by angry spirits in Southern waters. Some traditions have purpose for a reason, Tanrock."

Owlflame, who was watching several circus animals, looked around at those words and leapt back to the ground. "Spirits are attacking ships?"

Cinderstar turned to her and nodded. "Yes. I'm surprised you don't know about that. I see you haven't been given all the information you need. It would be my honor to instruct you in the spiritual ways of WaterClan."

"I wouldn't mind learning about fighting spirits," Owlflame meowed right away, loving to learn battle skills. "Airbending is getting pretty boring recently."

But Tanrock hissed to Cinderstar, "Hey, Sunstar is Owlflame's mentor, not you. He can give her all the training she needs."

Owlflame looked around at her father. For some reason, he appeared to be against her, saying that she needed to be trained even more. She wanted to remind him that she was a warrior now, not a little kit that had to be led everywhere by her parents.

"So you say, older brother," Cinderstar merely answered his brother. "So you say."

**...**

"I'm glad you came with me to this meeting," Emerald purred to Stonetail. "Dodger is one of the richest being in the Clans and the world, and he is in control of the entire international shipping business. So you're my helper for the day. Just stand there and don't say anything."

Stonetail wriggled his stumpy tail. "No problem. Timon and I are natural assistants."

They looked up at the ship they had approached. The yacht was predominantly white with blue accents and a blue insignia. It had at least three floors.

"Wow, is this nice," Stonetail meowed in wonder. "I wonder if I can get into this whole business thing. What do you say, Timon?"

The meerkat merely squeaked.

The two cats and the meerkat prowled up the plank towards the ship and into the nearest room. In there were several dogs and cats, all watching a tom sitting on a cushion, his eyes closed and his paws pressed against his head in concentration while a tabby she-cat sat beside him, writing on a notepad. The tom in question had white fur, and a brown mask covered most of his face. Two of his legs (his right front and his hind left) were even brown, and so was his tail.

_So this must be Dodger...he looks weird, _Stonetail thought. _Still, what he's doing is pretty good._

Suddenly, Dodger opened his blue eyes and grinned in excitement. He turned to the dogs and cats and asked, "Did you see that, ladies and dogs?! Levitation! I was just a foot off the ground! A foot! Is that incredible or what?!"

Meows and barks filled the room, all calling stuff like "How does he do that?", "That's incredible!", or "Awesome!"

But as Emerald joined in...Stonetail spoke up. "Eh...not to be rude, but...it looked like you were just sitting on a pillow."

Gasps and glares met his words as Emerald slapped a forepaw to her face in embarrassment. As this happened, Dodger frowned and marched up to the brown tabby, leaning in close and making him lean back as Emerald watched on. Timon hid behind his owner, apparently scared that his owner was going to get attacked.

"What was that?" Dodger asked quietly. "Did I hear you say that I _wasn't_ levitating?"

"Um...no?" Stonetail squeaked, willing himself to not look away.

Silence. Then... "Well, why didn't anyone just say so?!" Dodger barked while he stood up. "Now I look like a seal-brained moron! Poobah, you're fired!"

He had looked around at a French bulldog, who bowed deeply and quietly waddled away. They watched him go before Dodger roughly clapped a paw onto Stonetail's shoulder, making Timon squeak and huddle next to Emerald.

"Know what, kid? You got spunk, and I like that. You're a real straight shooter, just like me." To Emerald, he meowed, "The guy's with you, Miss Sato?"

Emerald nodded before sighing in relief.

Dodger chuckled. "Brought your shark with you to do business, huh? Now _that's_ spunk! Get over here and take a load off your paws! Julie, once you get 'em settled, why don't you get 'em some cream, eh?"

The brown tabby she-cat nudged a cat and a poodle away to make room as Dodger let the two cats settle down. Now the other animals in the room were staring at Stonetail with fascination and some disbelief.

"Thank you again for meeting with me," Emerald meowed. "As you know, Future Productions is looking for a partner to handle our shipping-"

"Sure! No problem!" Dodger meowed. "But first, check out my new venture: moving pictures. Julie, do the thing," he told his assistant. "You're gonna love this."

Quickly, Julie shoved the tray of cream she was serving to Stonetail to him before dashing over to an object on a table with a red cloth draped over it. She leapt onto the table, removed the drape to reveal a film projector, and quickly turned it on.

Emerald was still standing up, but Dodger quickly had her sit down next to Stonetail. The latter looked over to the wall, where there was a large blank white sheet, perhaps the kind to draw stuff on. A silent and grainy group of pictures of a horse running in a field was played for a moment before Dodger turned to them.

"Mind-blowing, huh?" he asked with a grin.

"You bet!" Stonetail purred.

Dodger chuckled again. "Now forget that! That's the past! Shut it off, Julie!" he told his helper. "Imagine watching this. Ginger, come over here and do your poses!"

Just then, a gorgeous female red setter walked forward in a white fur coat, and Stonetail couldn't help but feel rather smitten by her. Despite Ginger being a dog and him being a cat, it was hard to take his eyes off of her. He kept drooling a lot more as she tossed the fur coat off and did a few sexy poses...until Dodger got in the way.

"Spectacular! Amazing! Smashing!" the white tom purred, ignoring Stonetail trying to take a peek around him. "And we tell a story: romance, action, and some cute animal stuff for the kids. Thanks, Ginger, go rest your sexy behind." As the female dog sat, he turned to Stonetail. "How was that, tiger? We're gonna do big business with these 'movers', as I call 'em."

"That seems great," Emerald meowed, piping up. "But I'm just concentrating on getting Future Productions back on track. If we could hammer out a deal..."

Just then, Dodger held up a paw. "Stop. Stop right there, gorgeous. Look me in the eye."

Right away, he pressed his face right up against Emerald's face, staring intensely into her green eyes and making the calico she-cat look awkwardly back at him. There was a tense moment of silence before Emerald planted her paws firmly into the cushion and stared back with the same force. Once both cats finished their staring contest, Dodger smiled at her.

"Alrighty then!" he announced. "Looks like we got ourselves a deal!"

How he sat up caused Emerald to stumble back, so Julie helped her get up as the guests all cheered. Dodger went on, "So then! We'll bring out more of the details at the royal banquet tonight. Now...who wants a rocket-boat ride?!"

The guests all cheered and followed Dodger out, leaving Stonetail and Emerald behind to watch them go. Dodger appeared to be a really strange cat, but he did appear effective in whatever he was doing. He even got a group of followers to follow him wherever he went.

"Is that how business usually goes here?" Stonetail asked Emerald.

Emerald just purred as she leaned forward and gently licked his cheek. "You're a natural assistant, Stonetail. Thank you."

Stonetail blushed at her licking his cheek, hoping Emerald wouldn't see. But still...it felt nice to help a friend out.

**...**

Later on at sundown, every cat had headed over to the banquet hall, where several lanterns were hanging overhead. Owlflame was persuaded by Cinderstar to sit at the head of the table with him, though Tanrock didn't look too happy about it. Goldstar's family was allowed at the main table due to being well-known in the Clan, even if Sunstar, his family, and Rockfall didn't look like they were from WaterClan.

As they ate, the shining of the lanterns reflected in the icy ceiling above them. It looked like the spirits of StarClan themselves had come down to dance. Even the food was delicious; lots of salmon along with tartar sauce with a side of crab meat.

"This is a wonderful feast in your honor, Uncle," Owlflame purred, looking up from the piece of salmon she was eating.

Cinderstar sniffed. "This is nothing," he meowed, gazing haughtily around. "When this festival was founded, the warriors and elders would converse with StarClan. Cats would watch the brilliant displays of light as the spirits of our ancestors danced in the sky. That was the _aurora australis_, or the fire in the sky as we call it."

Owlflame could imagine the scene: the spirits dancing in the starlit sky, not just on the ceiling. "Wow...I've never seen that before," she murmured.

"And that is a shame, since the Avatar Cat is indeed the bridge between the material world and our warrior ancestors," Cinderstar replied. "That is why I wish to teach you, to help you fulfill your destiny StarClan has laid out for you."

Tanrock glared at his brother. "I thought I had made it clear that Sunstar is the one teaching her. Stay the hell out of this."

Cinderstar stared at him and merely replied, "Calm yourself down. We will not have any foul language here at this festival. And Owlflame," he went on. "Every Avatar Cat before you traveled the world to learn, and it's a shame you did not have a choice to get that chance. It was Sunstar and your father who kept you sheltered at the South Pole."

That made Owlflame stop picking at her food and look up, a lump forming in her belly. All her life, she thought Goldstar was the one who told the Order Of The Phoenix to keep her there. Was her training life a lie? Had her trip to United City just been a lie? Had she been let there just so that Sunstar could keep her under his control like what her father was doing?

"What?" she rasped. "But...it can't be. I thought Goldstar ordered the Order of the Phoenix to keep me down here?"

"I can explain, Owlflame," Tanrock spoke up, shame on his face. "We all did what we thought was best for you. We thought we would find you a good mentor."

Owlflame whirled around at him, her respect of her father close to being torn apart. "Who I train with should be _my_ decision, Dad, not yours or Sunstar's," she hissed.

She looked to the side at Sunstar, who looked at her morosely from further away. Both of his littermates were poking him playfully, and now Owlflame found herself wishing that they could poke him a lot more. She felt he deserved it after what he and Tanrock did.

"Looks like someone's taking your place as the Avatar Cat's fuddy-duddy mentor," Rockfall was teasing, continuing to nudge his brother.

"Don't pick on Sunstar, Rockfall," Seashell lightly chided him. But with a sly smirk, she added, "You know how sensitive he gets."

Sunstar glared at his littermates. "I am NOT sensitive!"

The other two cats purred. But Owlflame did notice that Silverheart was watching them with a nostalgic and sad look, letting Crowkit and Goldkit climb all over her. She felt a big twinge of sympathy for her mentor, for her brother Ashfeather had already passed away...as did her mate and many of her friends. Besides another cat, she was one of the only living cats who had been through the Great War, and she missed her brother dearly.

Suddenly, Cinderstar sat up, and a cat yowled for silence. Every head turned to face him, except Dodger, who was busy with something.

"As the leader of the two Clans, it is my honor to speak at this festival feast," he meowed. "This festival was founded to bring our two Clans together and restore the ancient balance between our living world and that of StarClan. But I am distraught to see what it has now become: a cheap fair that celebrates greedy and trivial creatures."

Tanrock gave the dark gray cat an irritated look while he lapped some water from the chalice near his roasted vole. Dodger, who was Emerald's new business partner, was busy cleaning his teeth with his claws while using his plate as a mirror as Stonetail and Betty were seated with him. Owlflame hoped they weren't being rude as her uncle made this speech.

Cinderstar went on, "I fear the time is coming when the North can no longer stand idly by while our Southern kin slip into total spiritual decline. Angry spirits are already attacking ships in your waters. I only hope we are not too late to change course."

He sat back down, and the cats in the dining hall began to mutter to themselves. What did the leader mean by "change course"? But they didn't have time to think some more as Dodger suddenly stood up.

"Glad to be here, Cinderstar," he meowed greasily. "And everybody. Always great to have him in town, eh? Now let's have some fun with Wacky Willy's dancin' seals!"

He sat back down, and Wacky Willy (a gray cat) danced in from the right. He WaterBended a slide on the floor, which three female elephant seals slid across. Willy Bended the water back the other way, and the seals slid back into view, standing up in front of him before they all bowed to the cats. Owlflame was amused by this, and Silverheart had even said that she and Goldstar used to ride on elephant seals when they were apprentices.

Only Cinderstar remained indifferent. Owlflame knew that he had a different view on the festival, but she knew it was rude to pry even more. Speaking of view, her resentment towards her father and Sunstar came back; if they hadn't left her in the compound, then she would have been more sociable with other cats. She just wanted the mental torture to end.

**...**

As dinner ended, now was the time for the rides and games. During that one time Owlflame had been there as a kit, she loved seeing the lights, eating food, and playing games. It made her feel like a kit all over again...this time, though, she had a mate and friends to celebrate with.

Redblaze nudged a piece of roasted arctic hare over to Owlflame, which she took a bite out of before pushing it back to her mate. Stonetail was eating a red herring on a stick and stared at the two of them with an annoyed look. With mild shame, Owlflame knew why: she had accidentally led him on two moons ago, and it appeared that despite what he said, he was still bitter about it. She knew that she could not take it back, but what was in the past should stay there.

Stonetail turned his head away and spotted something, and Owlflame turned to see her cousins nearby. They were looking around at the rides and games, looking stoic as usual. Over the past year or two, they had still crept her out...and looked down on her too, calling her a commoner.

Stonetail smirked, cleared his throat, and nudged his brother, pushing his roast herring to him and mewing, I'm making my move. Wish me luck."

"Okay," Redblaze replied. "Good luck, Stoner."

Owlflame whispered into her mate's ear, "Those two have always crept me out. They smell like a walrus that's been in the sun for too long."

"Hey!" Stonetail was approaching the two cats. "Name's Stonetail. I'm a friend of your cousin's. You're Eska, right? Wow," he added, eyes looking Duskpaw all over. "I'm just... I'm just lovin' that pelt. I'm a pelt cat, you know?"

Duskpaw merely hissed at him, ears pulled back in displeasure.

"Yipe!" Stonetail yelped, staggering back a bit. But he collected himself and went on casually, "So...you're from the Northern Clan, right? That's cool. That's like, you know, that's like, my favorite direction. North. It's cold and all."

The twins just stared at him blankly. Then Palepaw muttered to his sister in that familiar blank tone, "I think he is trying to establish some kind of bond with you based on your geographic point of origin."

"Perhaps it would be interesting to spend time with a cat whose ways are rough and uncultured," Duskpaw meowed back in that same tone. Back to Stonetail, she meowed, "You amuse me. I will make you mine."

That made Stonetail stare back at her. "You mean like a mate or...a servant?"

Duskpaw gave a smile, something Owlflame had never seen her do except if she was making a terrible joke. "Yes," she meowed, flicking her tail to his face. "Win me prizes."

This made Stonetail chuckle nervously as she grabbed his scruff and hauled him off.

Suddenly, Owlflame felt bothered again by what Tanrock and Sunstar had done, angry that they had kept her cooped up all of her life. But she knew that this should not get in the way of fun, so she pulled Redblaze over to a water gun carnival game, using caricature cutouts of the younger apprentice Goldstar as targets. Jets of water hit the targets, the one closest to the hitting the hole in the targets mouth, causing the apprentice's arrow to light up and a cutout of his red-tailed hawk Tobi above his head to rise up.

"Cinderstar offered to train me in his ways," Owlflame told her mate, not caring if she was losing. "He says he can teach me about StarClan and my connection to their world."

Redblaze nodded. "That sounds good. What does Sunstar think about it?"

Owlflame snorted. "That bone-head? He just thinks I'm his damn prisoner or one of his kits. I'll never finish training with him in charge."

Thus, she used WaterBending to increase the size and pressure of her water jet. It hit the target full on and made the Tobi cut out quickly reach the top of the meter. This made the barker call the winner and hand her a prize: a plush toy of Goldstar's pet dragon, Archie.

"You heard what Cinderstar said," Owlflame meowed as they walked down the path, the dragon plushy bouncing up and down. "The Southern Clan is spiritually unstable, and it's the Avatar Cat's job to make it right again, but Dad won't even let me think about Cinderstar teaching me. What do you think about it?" When Redblaze didn't answer, she asked impatiently, "Well?"

"Well, what?"

"What do you think I should do?"

Redblaze shrugged. "I...guess you should go with what you think is right. I'll support you and whatever decision you make."

For some reason, though, Owlflame was irritated by that. "Gee, thanks. That's a big help."

"What? First, you wanted me to be supportive," Redblaze meowed, now looking offended. "Now you want me to tell you what I think? Make up your mind, will you?"

"Just forget it," Owlflame snarled, dumping the plush toy at his paws and stalking off.

**...**

The wind chime tinkled softly in the freezing southern wind, and it was enough to make a cat feel sleepy. Owlflame had been having a dream of catching salmon outside the city when she felt something large get up beside her and pad away. It was Nisa; the black she-wolf was looking very tense, ears pricked up and a semi-snarl on her face.

"Nisa, what're you doing?" Owlflame yawned, stretching and following her. But then, as Nisa reached the edge of the cliff and started barking and howling, she hissed, "Nisa, hush! You're gonna wake everyone up!"

Her companion merely licked her face and went back to barking and howling.

"What's going on?" Stonetail's voice asked.

Owlflame looked around at Redblaze and Stonetail coming out of their dens, the latter waking up with a yawn and a stretch. And then...just over the edge of another cliff...she saw it: a large dark thing materializing out of nowhere and slowly shaping into a fox.

"What...what the hell is that?" Owlflame gasped.

It sure looked like a fox, but it was too huge to even be called a fox. The colors were strange too; instead of being red-furred all over, it was black with glowing red eyes. This must be one of the spirits Cinderstar had told the other cats about.

The dark spirit suddenly jumped at her and sank its fangs into her neck as it dragged her down to a gully. Redblaze and Stonetail had seen this and started running down to the gully to her aid. Owlflame went tumbling until she collided with the rocky ledge in front of her hut, the icy rock cutting into her skin. The dark spirit's paws grabbed hold of her shoulders and pinned her to the ground while it came face to face with her. Dark saliva covered the lower half of its jaw, perhaps ready to savor the attack before finishing her off.

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

Owlflame struggled in the jaws of the dark fox spirit, but she couldn't break free. It was about as heavy as a dragon, and its claws raked her shoulder, blood pouring from the wound. But as the fox was opening its toothy jaws, it was hit with a blast of fire, making it let Owlflame go and turn to its attacker.

Redblaze and Stonetail were facing the fox spirit, their pelts bristling in the chilly southern air. Redblaze was swiping claws of fire towards the beast while Stonetail slid over the ground and began to Bend the earth under the snow.

"I got it!" he called with a cheer. He swung his foreleg upward and Bended a thin wave of rocks aimed at the spirit. The spirit snarled as it jumped to the side, and the rock wave missed.

"...I don't got it!" Stonetail called feebly.

Redblaze leapt towards the spirit with fiery claws, but it dashed out of the way and then dashed at both brothers. The dark spirit swiped at them with a paw and knocked them down a hill just as Sunstar, Tanrock, and Dovesong came out of their huts and went to help out. Owlflame wanted to help them too...especially since Redblaze was her mate...but she wanted to make that thing pay for laying a claw on him.

She stood up to lick the blood from her shoulder before running towards the dark spirit, jumping and twisting her body in the air to perform a vertical kick, FireBending a fast arc of flame at the dark fox spirit. The fox dodged again, and Owlflame swiped fiery claws at it but missed once again. The spirit closed the distance, and she pounced at it from close range while jumping back. The spirit jumped into the air and began falling towards her, but she managed to dodge out of the way, and the fox crashed into the snow, snarling and yelping.

Behind Owlflame, Tanrock was sliding towards her and past her on an elevated ice slide. The big light brown tom circled around the spirit and began Bending large ice walls around it to trap it. Tanrock came to a stop, and there was a short moment of silence before the spirit grew tendrils from its nose and burst out of the top of the ice cage. The tendrils violently grabbed both father and daughter and tossed them around. Tanrock hit the front wall of a hut with a grunt and fell down, and Owlflame was flung down the hill towards the festival.

_Damn you, Dad! _Owlflame thought in anger, getting back to her paws. If he hadn't been treating her like a kit in danger, then she would have had no problem in fighting this beast.

The spirit broke out of the ice cage as Sunstar leapt up from below and approached the dark fox spirit. He was calling, "Spirit, why are you angry? What have we done to offend you? Let us know, and we will help you!"

Owlflame wanted to tell him that it wouldn't work, but the fox turned to the AirClan leader and swiped a paw at him, knocking him away. She watched as Sunstar hit the snowy ground before looking back up at the large dark spirit. If no forms of normal Bending would work, then she would have to try it another way.

So she inhaled deeply and sank her claws into the snow, closing her eyes and entering the Avatar Cat State, her blue eyes glowing when she opened them. She felt as if all the spirits of StarClan had come to her aid, and she was ready to carry out their order. Just before her, the fox spirit leapt at Owlflame, but the wind was already kicking up around her, and she was now floating into the air. It leapt at her again, but Owlflame was already flying into the sky and out of the way on a thin tornado, lashing it at the beast. The fox burst through the festival fence and went sliding over the fair ground before righting itself and coming to a halt.

Before it had time to act, the dark spirit was hit by a barrage of fire blasts from Owlflame as she circled around it. The spirit was briefly hidden by a large orange fire cloud, and then one of its tendrils shot out from the cloud and snatched up the Avatar Cat. Owlflame yowled in pain before the tendril threw her into a tall stack of wooden crates. Owlflame was disoriented as she tried to get to her paws, looking up as the dark fox began to approach her. It had just raised a big clawed paw to deal the final blow...when it stopped as a ribbon of water began to circle around it. The dark spirit looked to the side, and Owlflame was shocked to see who it was.

It was Cinderstar. Her dark gray uncle was on his haunches and waving his forepaws in a circle, Bending the water. The water began to take on a more defined spiraling ring shape around the dark fox spirit. Owlflame watched on in pure awe as the water around it started to emit a golden glow. Cinderstar raised his tail, and the dark spirit started to glow as well. The WaterClan leader let his paws down, and the glowing water rings dissipated as the fox spirit slowly walked off, still dark but completely calm now.

"Go in peace," Cinderstar called after it calmly. "And may StarClan bless you."

The fox spirit nodded before dissolving into golden flecks that flew into the wind.

Owlflame managed to get back to her paws, staggering a bit before finally standing up straight. What a power that was! An ability to control the spirit like that...and to calm it down. Could the same be said for a StarClan cat when he or she got into a rampage? But before she could say anything, she heard yowls of concern and spotted Sunstar and Tanrock heading over towards the two cats. She didn't want them fretting over her like a couple of worried queens; warriors didn't need to be coddled with.

Tanrock laid his tail on Owlflame's flank, but she shrugged him off as she spoke to Cinderstar. "How were you able to control that spirit when no one else could?" she asked.

Cinderstar sent his brother a stern glare before turning back to Owlflame. "As your father could tell you, I have spent my life studying StarClan and its spirits and learning their ways. All of this knowledge is lost in the South, but I could teach you everything I know. It could be up to you to help bring spirituality back to this place."

To Owlflame's irritation, Sunstar meowed, "Cinderstar, I know you are a very knowledgeable cat, but Owlflame still has a lot more to learn about AirBending. I hope that going to one of the four AirClan Temples will help her connect with the past Avatar Cats."

Owlflame just growled.

"AirClan will not teach her anything," Cinderstar responded with the same polite tone. "Only I can give her the training she needs to be a complete Avatar Cat."

Tanrock growled, "Hey, I've told you that will not happen."

Finally, Owlflame's patience had run out. She surprised all three adults by snapping, "Hey, I'm right here, you know! Anyone wanna ask me what I think?"

"Owlflame, please listen-" Sunstar tried to meow, but he was interrupted.

"No!" Owlflame growled, glaring angrily at him. "I'm sick and tired of listening to you! _Both_ of you! You both keep me locked up like a wild animal, telling me you know what's best, but both of you were powerless against the spirit attack! And here I thought that I could look up to you." There was a brief pause as both toms glanced sadly at each other and Owlflame turned back to her uncle. "I think it's time I accepted a new mentor."

Sunstar closed his eyes and tilted his head down sadly. But Tanrock tried to meow, "Owlflame-"

Owlflame glared at her father. "Uncle Cinderstar has proven he's the only one who knows what I need to learn. I have to go with him."

"Please," Sunstar meowed with a strained sigh. "I know you're angry, and you have a right to be. But...we've come so far together. All through the past leaf-fall when the Equalists and Anubis attacked...are you sure you want to leave AirBending training?"

"I'm sorry," Owlflame muttered, turning away. "But this is as far as we go together. You and Dad lied to me about my training. From now on, I'm no longer your apprentice."

There was a brief moment as Sunstar let her response sink in. The large golden cat dipped his shaggy head to Owlflame, meowing with a short but brief tone, "Then it has been a pleasure serving you. I wish you good luck, Avatar Cat Owlflame."

With his head still down, he turned around and padded off rather quickly. Owlflame did feel a bit sorry for going harsh on him...but she knew she wouldn't be if he and Tanrock hadn't kept her locked up like an animal. Besides, she wasn't going to take back what she said. It was time she got out of his grasp and headed on to the future of her advanced training.

_Maybe if they see what they did to me was wrong, I'll forgive them, _she thought. _But for now, I don't think so._

**...**

The next day's events tugged at Owlflame's conscience, but she shook the feeling away. She did not want to continue being Sunstar's apprentice if he wanted to keep treating her like a kit. She and the other cats watched from down the path. Owlflame shared a look with Redblaze as if asking him if she was doing the right then, and she wanted to rub against him to be reassured.

Down the slope, Sunstar was packing up to prepare for him and his family to go to the AirClan camps. Owlflame didn't want to go down the slope and say good-bye, for she had already done that last night. He had let her down by not treating her with the same air as a warrior, and he had made the decision to lock her away (even Tanrock had agreed to this) for the supposed sake of her safety. So she saw no reason in seeing him off.

"I think you forgot a couple of things," Silverheart's voice meowed.

Owlflame saw Sunstar turn around to Silverheart, who had approached him from behind. On either side of her were Seashell and Rockfall, their belongings in their jaws. She guessed that there was one cat who was going to see him off.

Sunstar blinked before picking up the sack in his jaws. "Mother, I need to spend time with my family right now."

Silverheart trudged her way over to her youngest kit. "This is your family too, Sunstar," the old silver tabby rasped with a smile, fixing him with her wise dark blue stare. "When you get to be as old as me, you'll be thankful for the time you have spent with your littermates. In addition, I think it's high time you all visit your father's old home together."

In reply, Sunstar nodded in resignation as he dropped his bag.

"Come on, it'll be fun!" Rockfall chuckled as he nudged him playfully on the shoulder.

Seashell joined her brother. "Yeah, come on. I'm just dying to see that laid-back 'vacation' I've heard so much about."

"All right, hop on." As they padded over to Ryu, Sunstar gave his mother's ear a gentle lick as he meowed, "I love you, Mother. We'll see you soon, I believe."

Behind them, Rockfall was struggling to climb onto Ryu, causing Seashell to roll her blue eyes. Sunstar flicked his tail back and sent a gust of air at Rockfall, sending him flying upwards and onto the saddle. Seashell even chuckled, "There you go, you big lump of fur!"

Once everyone was on board, Ryu gave a roar and lifted off into the gray dawn sky, hidden by the fog that rolled over. A part of Owlflame's heart was scolding her for what she had said that night, but she stood by what she said. She thought, _At least Cinderstar won't be treating me like a naughty apprentice._

She turned to Redblaze, afraid he would tell her off for dropping Sunstar as her mentor. "Do you think I did the right thing, Redblaze?"

Redblaze looked to the side a bit. But he looked back and meowed, "I don't know, Owlflame. I'm sorry, but I'm not very good at this Avatar Cat counseling shit. But I do know your heart is in the right place, and you'll just have to trust it."

With a small nod, Owlflame prowled forth and rubbed her head underneath her mate's jaw. Redblaze looked down at Owlflame and gave her a small reassuring smile, which she returned as they nuzzled. She now wished that she hadn't been so short with him when he had been trying to help, and she wanted to apologize, but she didn't get the chance. Instead, Cinderstar had padded up to the two cats, regal and stoic.

"I know this was a hard decision for you to make, Owlflame, but it was the right one," the dark gray tom meowed. "You will be taught the many things that you were denied. Now it is time to put the past behind you and begin your new training. I have great plans for you indeed."

Owlflame nodded in grim determination. Her new lessons were soon to begin.

_**To be continued...**_

**...**

**AvatarCat13: Well, there you have it. Chapter 1 of Book 2 is finished! I'm looking forward to seeing new chapters being made here.**

**Korra: (With a smile) Don't forget that you're the one making those chapters, Avatar Cat. Can I say the review thing with the preview for The Aurora Of The South?**

**AvatarCat13: Sure. Go on ahead. But here's a new thing. No longer will I put up the summary of the next chapter on the next chapter. It will be at the end of each chapter, but this one was a special case.**

**Korra: You got it. (To the readers) Glad to see you're reading this again, so read and review, folks! Those who do will get a virtual plush of me in my cat form. We don't allow flames on here, but we DO welcome advice, questions, and criticism as long as it's not harsh.**

**Preview: Owlflame takes up new tutelage under the watchful eye of Cinderstar. And their first bout of training takes place at the Everstorm, where the portal to StarClan is said to reside at. Will she get through there without others worrying about her? In the meantime, Sunstar and his family finally arrive at the Southern AirClan camp, where his father Goldstar was born.**

**Both: See ya next time!**


	2. The Aurora Of The South

**AvatarCat13: Hey there, everyone! We have some good news for you! First, my mom and sister are coming up for Thanksgiving and for the baptism of Caroline; that, I can't wait for. Second, we have seen the grand finale of The Legend Of Korra Book 2, and what a finale it was! We might have to plan on something like that for this story!**

**Korra: That way, it'll be an Avatar Cat premiere that you won't forget in a hurry! And I have a surprise that you might all know about...so Avatar Cat, how's your vacation in Pennsylvania doing?**

**AvatarCat13: Doing good so far...still haven't seen my ex-girlfriend yet, though. I've already gotten Pokémon X version, and it's awesome!**

**Korra: I heard that, and that's great! I hope you saw a lot of new Pokémon, and I hope you do well reading scriptures at the baptism; that, I heard of too. Now if you'll excuse me, I gotta go say the disclaimer.**

**Disclaimer: Just remember. I DO NOT own The Legend Of Korra or Warrior Cats. They belong to Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, and Erin Hunter.**

**Uploading Date: November 20, 2013**

**Enjoy!**

**...**

_**The Aurora Of The South**_

It was early in the morning in the Southern WaterClan, but Owlflame was up and ready, already riding Nisa over to the musk oxen stables. She was eager to learn from Cinderstar and get to the good stuff..._unlike Sunstar, _she thought in a mildly cross way. It was thanks to him and her father that she hadn't had time to grow and train the way she wanted to.

Owlflame could have sworn she felt her pelt ruffle not from the cold...but by something not right around...something supernatural. But she didn't want to think about it right now. As she arrived, there were supplies on the ground and several cats tending to the musk oxen, large shaggy brown beasts that looked like massive sheep. She spotted Cinderstar at the lead, scanning the area with narrowed green eyes.

"Good morning, Owlflame," her uncle remarked. "Seems like you're up and early."

"Well, what can I say?" Owlflame meowed, her tail tip twitching. "I'm pumped up to learn that spirit fighting anytime."

Cinderstar rested his tail on her flank. "I admit your courage, but I'm not here to teach you to fight spirits. I'm here to help you begin your spiritual training. We're going to go on a short expedition to one of the most remote places in the world, the long neglected spiritual center of your Clan: The South Pole."

Owlflame was surprised. "The South Pole? You're training me there?"

"Yes. But we will do more than just train," Cinderstar explained. "By neglecting the spirits of StarClan, the southern cats have brought this darkness upon themselves, and now it threatens to destroy our Clan. We must set things right. The Southern WaterClan's fate rests in your paws."

"A dangerous trip to the South Pole, huh?" Owlflame meowed. "Count me in!"

Cinderstar nodded with approval, and Owlflame felt light all over again. With him around, she could learn a lot faster instead of having to go through training step by step. Plus, her father would not worry about her all the time, and she would learn with ease.

Owlflame looked back towards the mountains and smiled. _South Pole, here we come!_

**...**

The clouds around Ryu clouded over until Sunstar was seeing nothing. Part of him was happy to spend time with his family again, but a day of travelling had tampered the good mood a bit. His siblings kept teasing him, and the kits were getting restless. Even Ivypaw, his oldest kit and the most patient, was getting a little bored and eager to explore. Sunstar prayed silently to his warrior ancestors for patience, for they were soon bound to be there.

Finally, the clouds began to dissolve, and Sunstar knew that they had arrived. They had made it to the Southern AirClan camp, where Goldstar was born many years ago.

"There it is," Sunstar sighed, breathing in the late leaf-bare air. "Isn't it magnificent?"

Ryu swept low until he was heading towards a courtyard, where cats were walking around and feeding white-tailed hawks. Ever since United City had been founded, Goldstar had elected a group of cats to follow the ways of AirClan and to carry on its tradition. True, none of these cats were AirBenders, but they were loyal to their Clan and the Warrior Code that bond all of them together as one.

The cats on the ground noticed Ryu, who landed on the ground before the main building. As Sunstar helped his kits down, he noticed a tabby tom with white paws approaching him. So he got Crowkit and Goldkit to the ground and approached the group of cats arrived. They had brought over boxes containing lots of stuff.

"Welcome, Sunstar!" the tabby cat purred, dipping his head to the AirClan leader.

"It's good to see you again, Abbot Snowfoot," Sunstar meowed back as he returned the gesture.

Snowfoot nodded. "Is there anything you need, Sunstar? Water? Fresh-kill? Or perhaps to find inner peace by ruminating in the gardens?"

Sunstar held up a gentle yet firm paw. "No, thank you. I'm fine."

"All right then." Snowfoot turned to see Dawnfall and dipped his head to her, purring. "And you must be the honorable and beautiful Dawnfall. It's nice to meet you at last."

"The same to you," Dawnfall purred with a smile and a blush.

Snowfall beckoned for some cats to scoot some stuff forward. "Please accept these gifts. This is an ancient AirBender fur brush we've refurbished just for you." He gave Sunstar an odd-looking device resembling hairbrushes attached to a wire dome with a propeller on top.

This made Sunstar gaze down at the gift in confusion. On one hand, it looked bizarre. But on the other hand, it would be rude to insult a gift in front of guests, and he did not want to be rude. Thus, he meowed, "Oh...thank you. My pelt is feeling rather knotted in any case."

"And Dawnfall." Snowfoot nudged an enormous bouquet of flowers over to her paws. "These rare and beautiful mountain flowers once filled the mountainside. Now they can brighten up your room like the sun through the clouds."

Like Sunstar, Dawnfall thanked him a bit awkwardly through the mouthful of stems in her teeth. "That's...very sweet of you. You didn't have to."

The tabby tom flicked his ear. "Nonsense! Whatever is ours is yours too, from the prey we hunt to the stream water we drink. We would all do anything for the blessed mother of the next generation of AirBenders."

"That gift is mine!" Sunstar looked up to see Plumpaw scooping a book away from Ivypaw and staring indignantly at her.

Ivypaw mewed, "Hand it over. You don't even like to read anyways."

All the gray tabby did was stick her tongue out at her. That made Ivypaw leap at her until both she-cats were rolling around on the ground, pawing at each other with sheathed claws.

Sunstar felt a bit embarrassed about how rudely his children were behaving in front of their honored guests. Even Dawnfall remarked sarcastically, "Yep, those are the world's next generation of AirBenders."

Just then, a young white-tailed hawk swooped down from the sky, Foxkit in its gentle talons. The little kit was mewling in his kit voice, "Mommy, Daddy, look! I finally got a bird! I'm gonna name him Crunchy."

The hawk let go of Foxkit, who dropped onto Snowfoot's back, as it flew away. Foxkit jumped off of the tabby cat and chased after "Crunchy", calling his new name. Sunstar knew that this was perhaps not the way he wanted the vacation to start, but he knew it would soon be fine. _Kits will be kits, _his father had told him and his littermates once, and he knew the same was true for his own children.

Meanwhile, Seashell and Rockfall were just getting off of Ryu, getting the luggage off of the saddle. Rockfall was holding two large sacks in his jaws and wheezing while Seashell slid down with the same grace as a WaterClan cat, just like their mother. As they were trying to get the stuff together, they saw a mottled light brown she-cat padding by; perhaps she could help them.

"A little help here?" Rockfall panted. After a look from Seashell, he added, "Please."

The she-cat looked quickly around at them before looking away again. "I'm sorry," she mewed politely. "I thought you were the servants."

Rockfall looked confused. "What in StarClan's paw pads are you meowing about? We're Sunstar's littermates."

"What?" the she-cat meowed, looking excited now. "Goldstar and Silverheart had other kits? The world is filled with more AirBenders?"

Seashell shook her head. "No, we're not AirBenders. I'm a WaterBender, and my brother here is a non-Bender."

Thad made the she-cat drop the excited expression as she dipped her head to them. "Oh. I'm so sorry. Sorry to bother you."

This made Seashell and Rockfall glance at each other, looking annoyed.

**...**

The time of the expedition had arrived. Owlflame, Redblaze, Cinderstar, Palepaw, and Duskpaw were on the outskirts of town, preparing Nisa and their musk oxen to travel. Cinderstar had said that Palepaw and Duskpaw were close enough to becoming warriors, and this trip would be like an assessment to them. This made Owlflame thankful that they didn't talk much; whenever they did, they would often talk down to her, Avatar Cat or not.

She looked around the snowy area. Stonetail had wanted to come along, but it seemed to be taking him a while to get there. With an impatient look towards tow, she looked back towards Redblaze, who was packing a sack onto Nisa's saddle.

"Isn't Stonetail coming?" Owlflame asked. She wanted all three of them to make the trip at the same time; Emerald couldn't, though, because of business.

Redblaze leapt down. "Yeah. He said he'd be here, but I can't worry about it now. I have to make sure you have everything you need for a safe trip."

Owlflame swiped his muzzle with her tail and meowed, "Thanks for that, Captain Gilligan, but I'll be fine. I'm a warrior."

"I know you are."

But as she let Redblaze get onto Nisa's saddle with her, Owlflame heard the sound of an engine and turned around. Tanrock was riding up on a cat-sized snowmobile, or what many cats called "snow monsters". Owlflame hoped that he would not distracted her from what she had wanted to do for a while; he would never stop them from this mission.

"What do you want?" Cinderstar asked right away, approaching his brother.

Tanrock's gaze traveled over to his daughter as he still faced Cinderstar. "I heard you're taking Owlflame out to the South Pole. I'm coming with you."

Without any hesitation, Cinderstar replied, "No, absolutely not. You will be a distraction to your daughter and a burden to what needs to be done."

"My daughter is not going without me," Tanrock growled. "There are hazards and predators out there that can snatch up a young cat. She needs someone to watch after her."

"Why the hell do you always think you know what's best for me?" Owlflame hissed at him from Nisa's saddle. "I can take care of myself!"

"For once, I will ignore the foul language," Cinderstar meowed. Throwing his brother a look of contempt, he went on, "And your father wants to come along because he's foolish. The sad truth is it is cats like your father who have put StarClan out of balance. He has ignored my warnings in the past and hasn't learned since."

Owlflame tilted her head to one side. "Really? What happened in the past?"

With a scowl still towards Cinderstar, Tanrock meowed, "It doesn't matter. What matters now is the Everstorm.

"The Everstorm?" Redblaze asked. "What's that?"

"It's a massive blizzard that's battered the South Pole for decades." Tanrock glared back at his brother and snarled, "I'm coming along with you, and if you try and stop me, then we'll fight, and I'll be your opponent."

Owlflame could feel her heart skip with tension and her pelt bristle as her father and uncle glared at each other. She prayed for StarClan to break up the tension with something...anything. To her relief, it did happen.

"Guys! Wait for me!"

They all turned around to see Stonetail heading to them. The brown tabby tom was riding up to the group on a snowmobile with a sidecar, and he appeared to be wearing green Twoleg pelts. He called out with a smirk, "Check it out! I'm now travelling in style!"

But then, he rested a foreleg on the throttle and accidentally made it lurch forward. "Okay, sorry," he mewed, steadying it. "Still getting used to that throttle."

"Where'd you get the ride?" Redblaze asked.

"I got it from Dodger," came the reply. "He's really awesome. He also gave me this real fancy snowsuit made for cats. It's inflatable with an internal heater, emergency beacon, and a food pouch. I mean, if I get lost, I can survive in this thing for like...like a moon." He reached into the snowsuit and pulled out some thin strips of meat. "Who wants some seal jerky?"

No one answered.

This made Stonetail look around and mew "Nobody? Did I interrupt something?" As he said it, Timon emerged from the snow suit and snatched the seal jerky from him.

"No, the talking's over anyways," Owlflame told him. With a glare towards Tanrock, she told him, "Dad, if you want to tag along, it's fine. Just don't interfere with my training, okay?"

At this, she steered Nisa away and rode up to the front of the group. She did not really want him to come along with them, but he seemed to be insistent on doing so. Still, Owlflame was happy that Cinderstar was letting her train outside of the Clan...unlike Sunstar.

Duskpaw padded up to Stonetail and asked in that dull tone of hers, "Does this sidecar have the capacity for two passengers?"

Stonetail nodded proudly. "Yep. But who's gonna drive?"

**...**

Palepaw and Duskpaw seemed to have provided an answer without saying anything. Stonetail was now driving the snowmobile, looking cross with a scowl on his face, while Palepaw and Duskpaw rode together in the sidecar. This made Owlflame want to laugh, but there wasn't any time for laughing, for they had to get to the Everstorm quickly.

Redblaze, however, decided to make a joke. He steered the ox he was riding to Stonetail and chuckled, "Well, what do you know? Looks like-"

"Shut it," Stonetail grumbled.

Owlflame felt a smile tug on her muzzle before seeing Cinderstar steer his own ox up to the top of a small hill. This, she let Nisa run after them until they were scanning the barren tundra together. It really looked like nothing (or no one) had lived here a long time, though she knew that it must have been the opposite years ago.

"What happens when we get to the South Pole?" she asked her uncle.

Cinderstar looked around at her. "Once we get there, you will open an ancient spirit portal."

This stumped Owlflame. "The what now?"

"At the South Pole, there is a portal that connects our world to StarClan," Cinderstar explained. "But it has long been closed for countless moons."

"And that's why the evil spirits are attacking everyone?" Owlflame guessed.

Cinderstar gave her a rather intense look. "Yes and no. You see, Owlflame, there is light and dark in all spirits. So there is really no need to call them 'evil spirits'. But when they become unbalanced just like recently, the darkness takes over. If you can open the portal in time, peace and balance will be restored to all the Clans."

That just made Owlflame even more confused. "Okay, you lost me there, Uncle. What do you mean by 'in time'?"

"There's a reason why the Glacial Festival ends on the leaf-bare solstice. That's when StarClan and the physical world are close together." The determination in his green eyes seemed to glow even brighter. "Only then can the Avatar Cat open the portal."

Owlflame remembered that. It usually appeared around the start of leaf-bare, and Avatar Cats like Goldstar before her would communicate with StarClan this way. She would actually get to visit the place on her own this time instead of a StarClan warrior appearing before her. _That would take the pressure off my shoulders._

"Really?" she asked out loud. "The winter solstice is tomorrow."

Cinderstar nodded. "Exactly. And we can't wait another year."

He went down the hill, Owlflame following him. She just knew something big was going to happen once the leaf-bare solstice (or known as the winter solstice by others) would arrive. But she knew that once she had the proper training she felt she deserved, then she could be able to use whatever Cinderstar taught her and use it for the greater good. That part, though, made her wonder what this "greater good" thing was.

Just then, Nisa started growling, making Owlflame soothe her by saying "Whoa there, Nisa", and rubbing her ears with a paw. Just under some large icicles hanging from a rocky outcropping, a couple of dark spirit began materializing out of nowhere.

"What are those?" Stonetail mewed with a whimper.

Owlflame's eyes narrowed. "Dark spirits."

But as soon as they appeared, the dark spirits suddenly vanished in the fog. This left a bad feeling in Owlflame's insides, and she felt like her paws wanted to leave right away.

"Let's keep moving," Tanrock spoke up as if reading his daughter's thoughts. "We have to find a safe place to set up camp. After that, we hunt."

Much as Owlflame was still angry at her father for overprotecting her, he had a point. They needed to find shelter or else predators like wolves or polar leopards could find them. Plus, her belly gave a slight rumble, and she knew she hadn't eaten anything since yesterday night at the carnival. Food and shelter were very much needed to replenish their energy until they continued their journey to the Everstorm.

**...**

Noticing the snow hare look up from grazing, Owlflame hid in a snow bank, trying to hide her scent and herself from the prey. No one else was stalking it, so she was free on this hunt. As she recalled a trick Silverheart taught her while hunting, the rabbit suddenly looked up and ran. But Owlflame was ready; she Bended the snow with her tail, turned some of it into icicles, and threw them at the hare, piercing its leg and making it squeal in pain. With a triumphant yowl, she dealt the final blow to the neck and carried it back to camp.

The cats were huddling in a cave for warmth and shelter, away from the howling winds and the hungry wolves outside. Thanks to having two EarthBenders in the group, they were able to make part of the rock wall fall down so cats could get in our out. A fire burned in the middle of the inside of a cliff, which kept the wind from blowing at them.

Once Owlflame dropped the hare, she asked Cinderstar, "Uncle, why do you think the dark spirits are following us?"

"Can we not talk about dark spirits please?" Stonetail whimpered pathetically.

Redblaze gave Stonetail a rather embarrassed look before turning to Cinderstar. "Sorry about that. My brother doesn't like ghost stories, especially the story of some 'donkey lady' or whatever the hell that is."

Duskpaw looked over at Stonetail. "Don't worry," she meowed tonelessly. "I will protect you, my feeble turtle."

"Thank you."

Cinderstar shook his head. "To tell you the truth, this isn't a ghost story. This is real. The spirits are angry, and it's all _his _doing," he added with a growl and disdainful look at Tanrock."Haven't you ever wondered how your father ended up here in the South Pole? Why he's never taken you to visit his birthplace in the North?"

Right away, Tanrock leapt to his paws, glaring at his brother. "Cinderstar, this is not the time."

Cinderstar snorted. "You're right. You should have told her a long time ago."

"Told me what?" Owlflame asked sharply, whiskers twitching.

"He's right; I should've told you before." Tanrock looked down at his paws. "I left the North Pole not on my own accord...I was exiled."

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

What Tanrock had said nearly took the breath out of Owlflame. Her father was banished from the Northern Clan? Wasn't he happy here with her and Dovesong while making a life here? It made her feel angry, betrayed, and confused all the same time, and she didn't know where to even begin this talk.

"You were exiled?" she asked her father. "But...why?"

"Because I almost destroyed the Clan." Tanrock gave a sigh and began his tale.

"Nearly three years ago, I was the deputy of the Northern WaterClan, sworn to protect my Clanmates at the cost of my life. I had also followed the Warrior Code even though I wasn't really spiritual. Plus, I had trained an apprentice well in the ways of the warriors, and things were calm and peaceful for a while. Then came the time when I was really exiled.

"I was patrolling with some warriors, making sure the Clan got fed and keeping enemies out of the city. Just as we were making a round near the palace, Cinderstar came forth on a long-furred horse. He was Cinderdusk back then, and I saw that he had something important to say.

"'Brother, we're being attacked by rogues,' Cinderdusk told me. 'Father said to help him repel the intruders. Hurry!'

"I was astonished beyond belief. _How did intruders get into the city? A heavily guarded city? _I thought. But my duty to help my Clan and my family won over.

"Right when I arrived in the middle of the city, chaos reigned. Cats were fleeing as the rogues attacked, one of them tossing a recently-killed warrior into a canal. He was ready to whirl around at a cornered kit when I sprang forth and sank my fangs and claws into his pelt, ripping hard at it before throwing him away. I Bended the water from the canal and threw it at them, surprising them by this ambush, and soon, I drove them out and into the frozen tundra.

"We gave chase to them, chasing the rogues with yowls as we charged forward, following their retreating forms and pawprints. Soon, we eventually tracked them deep into an ancient forest, a lush green forest nestled in the valley. Many believed this forest was the home to spirits, and those bastards had come here because they wouldn't attack on such sacred ground.

"They thought wrong."

Owlflame quivered in mild alarm at the fresh anger in his voice, and there was also...regret? What had he done to get banished from the Clan?

Tanrock went on, "We had come across the sled tracks and the hoof prints of the caribou the rogues had ridden and followed them up a hill. I looked over it to scan the forest and then flicked my tail for my fellow warriors to keep an eye out, for they were dangerous.

"Once we were inside, three warriors Bended a huge wave of water at a couple of rogues who were nearby. They yowled and tried to flee, but they were swept way as the water rushed at the lot of them. I did the same thing, not knowing that the forest was slowly getting flooded, the lake water filling the clearing, before we went to round up the rogues. We had defended our Clan and captured the rogues...but at a cost: we had destroyed the forest, many trees broken and mangled and the ground dug up and flooded.

"I didn't realize the consequences of what I had done. I was in the main palace, asleep, until I heard a badger-like snarl outside. As quick as a flash, I leapt out of bed, wondering what that sound was coming from. I ran over towards the balcony of my den and saw a horrifying sight: By destroying the forest, I unknowingly let loose angry spirits, and they were now attacking our city when it was already safe.

"I spotted an old cat running away as a huge crocodile-like spirit prowled towards him. Without even thinking of what I was going to do next, I leapt down, ice forming around my claws, and raced towards it, catching it under the nose with a big hefty swipe. As the spirit turned on me, I threw a stream of water at the spirit before dodging out of the way as it lashed out at me with its large scaly tail. They threatened to destroy everything and the entire city, and StarClan spirits or not, we just couldn't let that go.

"The spirit was about to strike again, but it was stopped by a twisting helix of water being Bended around it. Cinderdusk was Bending the water, which began to glow, as the same thing happened to the other spirits being calmed by other WaterBenders. Finally calmed down, they went back to where they came from.

"In the end, Cinderdusk was able to guide the spirits back to the forest. But by then, the damage had been done. For being the cause of so much devastation, my father and leader banished me from the Clan in shame. That's when I came to the South and started a new life: I had met your mother and had you, the only kit in the litter. I had kept this a secret to protect you."

There was silence as all the other cats except for Cinderstar thought it over. Finally, Stonetail spoke up, "Whoa. So _you_ were supposed to be chief, then _he_ became the leader. No wonder you guys don't like each other."

In response, Redblaze cuffed him upside the head with a stern look.

"Ow!" Stonetail yelped, looking back at him and massaging the stricken spot. "What? Isn't that what happened?"

But Owlflame did not join them. Inside, she was furious and vengeful towards Tanrock. There were more lies he had told her, and there was the fact that he was protecting her too much. She stood up and hissed at her father, "So you kept this a secret all this time? And you never told me? Not once?"

Tanrock looked even more ashamed. "Yes, that's the truth. But I was protecting you from the shame I brought on the family."

"Why do you keep hiding things from me and then telling me it's for my safety?" Owlflame cut him off harshly. "I'm tired of you protecting me! I just hate you right now!"

Without seeing his reaction, she spun around and stalked off. But while she had walked away, Tanrock had bowed his large head in shame.

Owlflame didn't care if she had hurt him with those words, for she wanted him to feel the anger of being lied to. It wasn't fair that he lied to her and Dovesong about what happened, not fair at all. After what she had heard, she had a feeling to just go back, but the mission would fail, and all the training would be up to nothing.

**...**

Ivypaw could not help but feel excited: it was time for Sunstar to show her and her littermates the room where all the statues of the Avatar Cats resided. She had heard much about how each Avatar Cat like Owlflame and her grandfather Goldstar was reincarnated into each Clan (WaterClan, EarthClan, FireClan, and AirClan respectively) for many moons. It was very exciting to learn all kinds of history from all sorts of places, like in the stories her grandmother Silverheart told her about.

They were now walking into a room filled with statues of the past Avatar Cats arranged in a spiral. These statues looked rather ancient due to dust covering nearly all of them, and they looked as old as the earth itself. It was one of the reasons why Ivypaw wanted to visit this AirClan camp so much; her grandfather had made history here.

"Wow," Ivypaw mewed in awe, looking around. "It's the statue room."

"That's right, Ivypaw," Sunstar meowed with a nod. "This is the most sacred place in the entire Southern AirClan Temple. Here, you will find statues of every Avatar Cat who ever lived, even your grandfather." But just then, he looked around and asked, "Where are your littermates? They should be here by now."

But as soon as he said this, two blurs of fur (one gray and one pale orange) zipped past them on their air paws, shouting loudly and playfully. The wind they whipped up blew Sunstar's mane over his eyes, making Ivypaw sigh inwardly. If only her siblings showed as much interest in the spiritual stuff like she, then they wouldn't be running around and disrupting the peace.

"You can't catch me!" Foxkit was squeaking. "I'm the bestest air-scooter-er of all time!"

Just then, he tripped and crashed into a statue, which started to crack. Sunstar looked shocked as he exclaimed "No, Foxkit!" and rushed off to help his oldest son.

Once her father was busy, Ivypaw noticed a certain statue and padded to the front of it. It was the statue of her grandfather himself, Avatar Cat Goldstar. Once again, Ivypaw recalled the stories she had heard about him from Silverheart, of how he was frozen for fourteen years before saving the world from FireClan's former leader, Darkstar. She also knew he had a rich golden pelt and looked around at her shoulder fur; her fur wasn't golden, but it was a crisp golden brown.

Ivypaw sat up on her haunches and tilted her head back to get a better look at him, for he was a rather tall cat. Just as she did so, she heard a whisper behind her and turned to see if it was her father, but Sunstar was already herding Plumpaw and Foxkit from the statues. There was no way any physical cat got this close to her; a spirit must have called to her.

**...**

After a night's worth of sleep in the cave, the cats were on the move again. Owlflame stuck close to Cinderstar, still not wanting to talk with her father. Tanrock had betrayed her and Dovesong by keeping this secret, so he had given up the right to talk to her freely. But that didn't keep him from trying, though.

"Owlflame." She heard Tanrock meowing to her, yet she kept walking. "You have every right to be angry with me, but I don't want you to make the same mistake I made those moons ago. I should have never gone into that forest, I know that. And we shouldn't be going to the South Pole now. StarClan and the physical world should remain separate.

Owlflame stopped walking and turned to glare at her father. "Dad, don't try talking me out of this. It's my job to be the bridge between the spirits and the physical world, and I finally have a chance to reach my potential."

Tanrock gazed at her with exasperation. "You don't even know if what Cinderstar says is true."

"You want proof in my words?" Cinderstar snapped at him. "Look up to the sky. Where I'm from, the spirits are at peace, and they light up the dark as easily as day."

"The Northern Lights," Owlflame murmured, imagining seeing the spirits in the stars dancing.

Cinderstar nodded. "Yes. There used to be lights in the South as well but during the hundred year war, the South was thrown out of balance and the lights disappeared. When the Fourteen Year War ended, the cats of the North helped to rebuild you physically as a Clan, but we have not yet rebuilt you _spiritually_. Now the spirits no longer dance in your skies as they had once done all those moons ago. Instead, they rampage in the Everstorm."

Before Tanrock could reply, Redblaze called from a cliff, "I think we're here."

Hearing him, they steered Nisa and the musk ox to the edge of the cliff, wind and snow blowing hard against Owlflame so she had to keep her head down. Before the cats was a sight she never thought she would see in the South Pole.

The Everstorm was just ahead of them, lightning thundering in the huge storm clouds. Owlflame could feel something strong and powerful coming from deep within the chasm, and if she got near, then things could become clearer. With a nod from Cinderstar, the blue-gray cat and Nisa slid down the slope, the others following them. It wasn't that long to go; just a few hours, and they would finally reach the Everstorm.

But suddenly, Nisa stopped and growled at a certain wail. Owlflame looked behind her after she heard a soft whispering wail of a spirit. Around them, the other cats looked around and scanned the area for something amiss.

"Is that what I think it is?" Stonetail mewled. "I hate ghosts!"

Cinderstar just merely walked on ahead. "Hurry. We must keep moving."

So they did. But as they padded along the snow, Owlflame heard it: it was a louder and more menacing growl, like a leopard. Stonetail shivered in the snowmobile, mewling, "Great piles of goose feathers! I got a REALLY bad feeling!"

"Stay calm, Stoner," Redblaze reassured him from on top of the musk ox he rode. "There's no reason to...panic!"

Suddenly, he swiped his claws at a small black creature, which burst from the snow below him and leapt at his ox, snatching away some supplies. Three more dark spirits leapt from the snow at the others; they all looked like monkeys. One grabbed onto Nisa's ears, making her howl and bark in rage, while another stole some of the supplies Cinderstar brought along. Another swiped supplies from Owlflame and causes Nisa to real back and fall to the ground.

Owlflame looked up in time to see a falcon-like spirit emerge, creating wings and flying. It was about to come at her, talons outstretched, when Tanrock got in between them and Bended a wall of ice in front of it. The dark falcon spirit flew around the wall, but was hit by his claws. Just as Owlflame was about to snap at her father for helping, she heard a roar behind her and noticed a short raptor-like spirit running at her.

"Hurry, Owlflame!" Tanrock yowled, shoving her out of the way. "Get to safety!"

Owlflame hissed at the thought of being protected _yet again_ by him, but she leapt out of the way anyways. Tanrock Bended a downward wave of water at the falcon spirit, but it dodged to the side and knocked him down towards Stonetail's snowmobile with a powerful gust sent from its wings. But that was a mistake, for a monkey-sized spirit jumped at the snowmobile and phased on into the engine.

"Shit!" Stonetail cursed in terror. "It's in the engine! IT'S IN THE ENGINE!"

The engine burst into a cloud of smoke, and the monkey spirit popped out from the top. With a burst of fire from the exhaust, the snowmobile sped out of control and away from the group, Stonetail yowling in panic and Palepaw and Duskpaw still calmly sitting in the passenger seat.

Owlflame leapt at the raptor spirit and swiped her claws down its face while Redblaze lashed out at the falcon spirit behind her. The falcon also swooped in from behind, the other two spirits doing the same towards the two cats, who dodged out of the way. But when the cats got out of the way, Owlflame saw why this was a bad thing to do: dodging ended up causing the spirits to all collide into each other, forming one large gorilla-like spirit.

Quickly, Owlflame got to her haunches and waved her forelegs in circles, trying to create a spiral of water around it like Cinderstar did to calm it. The gorilla spirit stood still as if it would glow and be calm for a moment, but the attempt failed, and it rushed at Owlflame. It swiped a large arm at the blue-gray warrior and knocks her down. It quickly pinned her down and brought its face close to hers, opening its mouth to screech and revealing rows of sharp teeth. Owlflame froze for a moment as it got closer, its stale breath staining her pelt.

But then, the spirit began to glow and dissolve, and Owlflame saw why: Cinderstar was using the calming ritual again. The spirit transformed into a large bright-colored owl and flew up towards the heavens. When it was done, Cinderstar finished his ritual, and Redblaze stepped forward to nudge his mate back up to her paws.

"Is everyone okay?" the red-orange tom asked, looking around.

They heard Stonetail yowling, and Owlflame saw the snowmobile heading towards her and Redblaze. Quickly, they leapt out of the way as the snowmobile started racing up a slope towards a tall mountainside, Stonetail yowling, "I can't stop this thing!"

"I'll save you," Duskpaw meowed stoically as she and Palepaw grabbed Stonetail by the scruff and leapt back with him.

Stonetail yelpedas they flew backward, and they all saw the snowmobile crash hard into the mountain. The twins dropped the brown tabby tom, and the green Twoleg pelt he was wearing inflated as it slid down the slope with Timon riding on top. He now looked like a raft as he slid down towards the cats, cheering, "Look at this! I'm Stoneraft!"

Palepaw and Duskpaw leapt down the slope ahead of him, their claws unsheathed and formed into icicles to grip the finally came to a halt before Redblaze, who managed to stop him by holding him still. Owlflame was happy that they all made it back in one piece; the ache in her side where the gorilla struck her still hurt, but they were all alive.

"Uh...can someone deflate me?" Stonetail asked. Duskpaw Bended ice spikes from the snow and pierced the suit, deflating it quickly. "Thank you."

Beside Owlflame, Redblaze went back over to the oxen, where they were shivering from being startled. Other than scared from the attack, the spirits hadn't harmed them...but their supplies weren't so lucky.

"Well, there goes our stuff," Redblaze growled, glaring around at the ruined supplies. "Now what the hell do we do?"

"We have to turn back," Tanrock meowed right away. "Right now."

"No," Cinderstar replied right away. "The solstice is tonight. We're so close to the Everstorm."

Tanrock shook his head. "This mission is too dangerous even for warriors. We're leaving."

That made Owlflame bristle in anger. Her father didn't want what was best for her; all he cared about was keeping her under his paw. She still did not want to forgive him for getting himself banished from his Clan and not telling anyone. In fact, if it weren't for him, then they wouldn't have much to worry about.

"No, Dad," she growled, glaring at him. "_You're_ leaving. You've done enough damage."

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

"Don't worry, sir. I'll keep Owlflame safe for you."

"Thank you, Redblaze. May the fleas be banished from your pelt."

Redblaze and Tanrock traded nods before the latter leapt onto the snowmobile and sped off into the fog. Owlflame had been watching them with displeasure; even if he wasn't going to be around, her father was still trying to baby her by having Redblaze watch her. She knew she wanted to have her mate by her side, but if he was going to be like him, then she wasn't going to go down quietly.

"Let's go." Owlflame looked over at Cinderstar, who was ready to depart. "We need to open this portal and lead your father and the entire Southern Clan back in the right direction. We don't have much time left."

"Then what're we waiting for?" Owlflame asked, steering Nisa to him. "Let's go!"

She made it back to the group and looked around. Stonetail was sitting in the now-separated side car of his snowmobile, looking disgruntled just like last time, being pulled along by the musk ox being ridden by Duskpaw and Palepaw. They were all going to travel in a single-file line to make traveling a little easier for the group.

"What were you and Dad talking about?" Owlflame asked Redblaze as they rode together.

"Nothing...nothing much," Redblaze meowed, though she knew he was lying. "It's not that bad. He was just worried about you, that's all."

But that didn't satisfy Owlflame; instead, it made her even moodier. "I sometimes wonder whose side you're really on," she muttered, urging Nisa onward with a light shoulder tap.

Redblaze caught up with her, growling, "Owlflame, we're all on the same side, and we all just want to help however we can. You have to trust that we're here for you. Doesn't that mean a lot to you instead of doing stuff by yourself?"

That made Owlflame stop and think this over. Now that she realized it, she knew that she had been rather harsh with her own mate recently. Plus, she had also been slightly short with anyone who asked why she wasn't Sunstar's apprentice anymore. She had been taking out her anger on several cats, and she didn't know why. To make it up, she leapt over from Nisa onto the ox that Redblaze was riding on, licked his cheek, and leapt back.

Up ahead, large ice structures were jutting upwards with ice-covered trees below, glowing with a faint blue light. Cinderstar was looking out towards it, green eyes shining with some sort of light as he rasped, "We've arrived at last."

"Wow...these trees are _frozen_ in ice," Owlflame commented, looking around.

"Indeed," Cinderstar meowed. "This is just like the sacred spirit forest Tanrock destroyed back in the Northern Clan."

Owlflame nodded. "Okay. So what do I do now?"

Her uncle cocked his head towards the trees. "You must find your way to the heart of the forest where the dormant spirit portal lies. Just remember that there is not prey to be found, and that is why we brought the travelling herbs along on this trip. As of now, from here, you're on your own, my niece."

"There's no way she's going alone," Redblaze meowed, stepping forth. Owlflame wanted to snap at him for that, but after hearing what he said, she kept her mouth closed.

"Yeah!" Stonetail had stepped forth too, Timon riding on his head. "If she goes in that forest, we go too."

"No," Cinderstar told the two toms, holding his tail up. "I value your loyalty to your fellow warrior, but the Avatar Cat must go alone."

Owlflame tilted her head to the side. "But Cinderstar, I don't have any connection with StarClan. In fact, it seems like they hate me.

Cinderstar replied, "Nonsense. StarClan would never turn its back on their Avatar Cat. You have to believe in yourself like I believe in you."

Hearing what her uncle had just meowed, Owlflame looked away, trying to figure out the feeling of disbelief. No cat had ever really said that they trusted her. If Sunstar had said it himself, then that was a long time ago. But still...hearing that a cat trusted in her made her relieved too.

As if seeing her look away, Cinderstar asked, "Owlflame? What is it?"

"Sorry," Owlflame mewed, turning back and rubbing her eyes with a forepaw. "I guess I'm just so used to other cats telling me how to do things that I forgot what it was like to have someone trusting me. It was a powerful surprise."

"All the past Avatar Cats live in you," the dark gray tom answered as he rested his tail on her flank. "Let them guide your pawsteps. Let them help you find the light in the dark."

Owlflame nodded, feeling as if the spirits of Goldstar, Whitestorm, and more Avatar Cats were beside her. She could do this, she knew it.

So she flicked her tail towards the other cats and instructed, "Wait here. I'll be fine."

Redblaze nodded. "Good luck, sweetheart," he murmured, briefly licking her ear.

Stonetail nodded with his brother while Timon made a small concerned squeak. Cinderstar's green eyes shone with approval while her cousins didn't move. And after a bark from Nisa, the blue-gray she-cat padded on towards the edge of the forest. Once she got there, she took a deep breath and headed on inside through two trees.

The area on the inside was like a network of ice tunnels; it was as if seals or something bigger had carved their way through here. Owlflame looked around. Tree branches and roots protruded from the ice. She padded on down the tunnel, the sound of her paws on ice muffled by an eerie silence. She made a turn down a different path and tried not to feel scared of going through a place that was so quiet.

_This is kinda spooky, _she thought as she padded on. _But it's just hours away from home. Nothing more, Owlflame._

Suddenly, a hissing noise made Owlflame turn behind her...only to look up at a dark snake spirit slithering above her. As if this wasn't bad enough, another snake spirit had joined the first one, shadowy eyes glaring down at her. Owlflame turned to run away, but one of the snakes caught her around the legs and tripped her, and she rolled over the ground as the snakes wrapped their long bodies around her. One snake coiled upward and lunged down to bite her, but she was ready now; another fight was what she needed.

Owlflame swiped her claws against the snake's neck, and she felt the fire swell its belly before it exploded. Her blood pumping harder, she leapt up and did a circular kick with both hind legs while doing a paw stand, creating a twister with AirBending and blowing the other snake off of her. The two snake spirits regrouped and went after her again, but Owlflame used WaterBending to push two ice walls out of her way. She jumped between them and then created a new ice wall, which the snakes collided into.

The Avatar Cat stood up, panting, as the spirits trapped on the other side slithered away. Once that danger was gone, Owlflame turned around and carefully padded forth. She was now inside a domed area, with an ice floor with a glowing center.

"The spirit portal...it's amazing," Owlflame gasped, looking around as she approached the center. "I made it."

**...**

The sound of the wind blowing over the mountains woke Ivypaw that night; she was in her own nest where AirClan apprentices had usually slept in. Plumpaw was curled up next to her, and Foxkit was already with Dawnfall and her recent litter in the nursery since he was a kit too. For some reason, though, Ivypaw couldn't sleep. She could tell that something was going on around the temple. Giving a slight yawn and stretch, the golden-brown she-cat got to her paws and made her way wearily out of the den.

She had made it to the room with the Avatar Cat statues, walking past said statues with faint light shining through windows. Ivypaw knew that once an Avatar Cat died, then they would be reborn into the next Clan in the Avatar Cat cycle. What would happen if Owlflame would die? What kind of EarthClan cat would she be? But as she pondered this, she looked around and gasped.

It was a statue, but unlike the other statues (which were made of stone), this one was made out of wood. It appeared to be a young cat encircled by a spirit.

_This is so cool, _Ivypaw thought with excitement. _But...which Avatar Cat is this?_

And when she looked closer, she could have sworn that its eyes were starting to glow.

**...**

"The light in the dark," Owlflame murmured, looking at the portal her uncle talked about. "Just like what Cinderstar said."

The blue-gray she-cat looked towards her reflection and then looked back at the portal. She took a fighting stance, raised a forepaw, and swiped hard and downward at the floor. A whirlwind formed around her, but there was no effect. Owlflame blinked for a moment as she got back up, unsure as to why nothing happened. So she took a few steps back and clawed at the ice with a large torrent of fire with both paws, continuing the stream of fire for just a few seconds before stopping. The dust cleared...and to her dismay, the ice showed no damage.

This made her hiss, "What?! Why isn't it opening?"

Other hissing sounds made her look up and gasp as several dozen spirit snakes slithered on the outside of the ice dome towards the top. She thought this was bad enough, but as if it _weren't_ bad enough, the spirits began meeting at the top of the wall, all attempting to break through the ice. Quickly, Owlflame turned back around and continued to attack the ice floor with air blasts.

"Come on, you damn portal!" she panted between each swipe. "Open!"

To her horror, the snake spirits had broken through and merged together into one giant snake, its head poking through the hole in the top. It snarled and quickly moved downward as it attacked her in the back, ensnaring her. Its mouth transformed back into smaller snakes, which wrapped themselves around Owlflame. She panted and gasped as the bodies of the snakes started to form some sort of net, like a fishing net. Owlflame was lifted high into the air, and she continued trying to break the ice with fire blasts, but she stopped when the dark spirit snakes wrapped themselves around her forelegs.

Owlflame continued to struggle as she was lifted higher and the spirits continued to tighten their hold on her. There was no easy way out of this mess, but there was one thing she could do. In this state, it would be tricky, but there was no other alternative.

She gave a grunt while her eyes glow as she entered the Avatar Cat State. She managed to free her forelegs and fell back towards the floor, but her legs were still trapped by the snakes, so she could only dangle from the ceiling like a bat. The spirits created more tendrils that wrapped very tightly around Owlflame while she tried to reach for the portal below. She struggled to reach it, and just as she was about to give up, she had managed to tap the floor with a claw.

A glowing ring rippled out from the center, and the area grew darker bar the glowing sphere underneath. There was a hum like a psalm being sung, then the ice cracked, and a pillar of spiritual energy exploded from beneath. Owlflame was knocked to the side as the dark spirits were hit with the energy. The pillar of light shot upward into the storm clouds, reaching above toward the stars where it split and formed the Southern Lights, which spread across the night sky.

Owlflame looked up at this in awe. "Great StarClan...the spirits are dancing in the sky," she mewled, feeling as small as a kit right now. "The fire in the sky."

Outside the pillar of light, energy spiraled within it, and the other cats watched on in awe. Redblaze was the first cat to speak, meowing, "I can't believe it. It's amazing!"

"It's _beautiful_," Stonetail sniffled with joy, wiping a tear from his eye.

Cinderstar didn't say anything, but he nodded in approval.

Meanwhile, Tanrock was far away from the group, trying to catch a snowshoe hare over the snow. Just as he caught it to take back to the Clan, the area around him suddenly got lighter. He turned to look behind and saw the lights, realizing that Owlflame had done it. His own daughter had finally activated the spirit portal, and it was likely that Cinderstar didn't have to help her.

"Owlflame..." he sighed in relief. "I'm really proud of you..."

Back at the spirit portal, Owlflame had finally emerged from the fog, slowly walking towards the pack of cats. She felt tired from all of that, but it was worth it. When she looked up, she saw her mate and his brother looking excited, Cinderstar looking at her in pride, and her cousins just staring blankly at her.

"Owlflame!" Stonetail cheered, rushing forth to happily lick her ears. "You're back! Hey guys, she's back! She's back!"

However, he was separated from her when a wall of ice formed between them, his head trapped within a groove at the top. He was turned around and was made to face an irritated Duskpaw, Palepaw by her side.

"Why are you initiating physical contact with another she-cat?" she muttered.

Stonetail looked rather nervous and frightened, gulping and whimpering softly. Seemingly happy with his response, Duskpaw turned the ice wall back into water, and he fell to the ground.

Owlflame looked back at her uncle, feeling pride and joy tingle in her heart as warm as fire. Due to his guidance, she had finally done what he had dreamed of doing all this time: reverting the Southern WaterClan back to spirituality. She didn't care that her muscles were screaming at her to lie down anymore; Cinderstar's approval made her feel energized.

"Uncle, everything you said was true," Owlflame purred. "You're a great mentor!"

Cinderstar nodded. "Avatar Cat Owlflame, you have taken the first step in bringing balance back to the South. And soon, you will bring balance back to the Clans and then the whole world. I am proud that you have become my apprentice."

Just then, Redblaze raced up to Owlflame and embraced her, covering her ears and face in licks. "You never cease to amaze me," the handsome ginger tom purred into her ear, making her smile.

"Thanks." But after the way she had treated him the past few days, Owlflame felt that she didn't deserve to be fully praised. "Redblaze, I'm _really_ sorry for being a total pain in the ass earlier," she meowed, pulling away from him. "It's just...things were really stressful and confusing. It's hard being the Avatar Cat."

"It's harder being the Avatar Cat's mate," Redblaze told her with a grin, nudging her.

Owlflame purred and gently bumped her head against his, relishing in having him by her side. As she looked up to the mountains and saw that the sun was rising over the worlds, ushering in a new dawn. So they gathered up their remaining supplies and made the trek back to the city, where they would rest and then make plans.

But as they arrived and looked out to the bay, Owlflame saw something that made her earlier joy fade away into shock.

Large battleships were entering the harbor. At first, she thought they were FireClan ships like the ones that raided the Clan when Silverheart was a kit, but Northern WaterClan cats were now marching towards the city. The sun shone behind them, light glistening on the water and briefly blinding Owlflame while she slid down from Nisa's saddle, watching the warriors.

"What're all your Northern warriors doing here?" she asked Cinderstar.

Cinderstar looked at her from the corner of his eye. "Opening the spirit portal was only the first step in getting the Southern Clan back on its righteous path," he told her. "There's more work to be done before WaterClan is truly united."

Owlflame looked at him with shock before looking back towards the warriors, worried. If what he said was true, then they could get WaterClan united and brought back to spirituality. But what she had seen strongly reminded her of the raids she had heard of in nursery stories. She hated to find out how Silverheart would discover this; it would probably remind her of how her mother Seamist was killed in a raid. But there were more important matters to worry about.

Why did Cinderstar have to send his warriors all the way to the South? The southern cats could try to find their way to spirituality thanks to the portals being opened, so why send warriors over here to ensure that? Still, she figured that after being lied to by Tanrock and Sunstar, Cinderstar was doing this for the greater good.

_StarClan, are we doing the right thing?_

_**To be continued...**_

**...**

**AvatarCat13: Well, there we have it. The Southern Clan is being invaded by its Northern counterpart, and it's thanks to Cinderstar.**

**Korra: (Angrily) I sure wish I could've taken him out right there and then. I can't believe Unalaq tricked us all like that! Once I see that jerk again, I'll-**

**AvatarCat13: That's enough, Korra, calm down. Think of the spoilers and the fans.**

**Korra: (Calms down with a small smile) Yeah, you're right. And you kinda sound like you're assuring a pregnant woman, you know that?**

**AvatarCat13: Yeah, I guess so. Well, here's the preview for Civil Wars Part 1, and don't forget to read and review to get a virtual plush doll of Korra. We don't allow flames, but we allow advice and constructive criticism as long as it's not harsh.**

**Preview: Owlflame has reopened the Southern spirit portal and taken the first step to restoring balance between StarClan and the living cats. But tensions run high between her and her father as Northern WaterClan cats land on Southern shores and take control. What other plans does Cinderstar have for the Avatar Cat? Meanwhile, Plumpaw had run away, and Sunstar and his littermates have to find her, but it proves to be difficult thanks to their father and their past.**

**Both: See ya next time! And Happy early Thanksgiving!**


End file.
